Missouri University of Science and Technology Scholars' Mine International Conferences on Recent Advances 1995 - Third International Conference on Recent in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Soil Dynamics Engineering & Soil Dynamics 07 Apr 1995, 10:30 am - 11:30 am Review of Geotechnical Investigations Resulting from the Roermond April 13, 1992 Earthquake P. M. Maurenbrecher TU Delft, The Netherlands A. Den Outer TU Delft, The Netherlands H. J. Luger Delft Geotechnics, The Netherlands Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/icrageesd Part of the Geotechnical Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Maurenbrecher, P. M.; Den Outer, A.; and Luger, H. J., "Review of Geotechnical Investigations Resulting from the Roermond April 13, 1992 Earthquake" (1995). 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(\ Proceedings: Third International Conference on Recent Advances in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics, t..\ April 2-7, 1995, Volume II, St. Louis, Missouri Review of Geotechnical Investigations Resulting from the Roermond April 13, 1992 Earthquake Paper No. 9.16 P.M. Maurenbrecher and A. Den Outer H.J. Luger Lecturer and Ph.D. Researcher, TU Delft, The Netherlands Project Engineer Delft Geotechnics, The Netherlands SYNOPSIS In 1987 the Engineering Geology section of the Delft University of Technology carried out a survey of the SE Netherlands to determine which areas were susceptible to liquefaction based on soil profile, groundwater levels and a Richter scale magnitude 6 earthquake along the prin.::ipal rift fault through the Netherlands, the Peelrand fault system. The fault system has been active since the Triassic and forms part of the Rhine-North Sea rift system. The last major ear~hquake along the Peelrand fault was in 1933. Recently, in 1992. a 5.8 magnitude earthquake occurred at Roermond, near to the Dutch-German border. Though damage resulting from the earthquake was limited, remedial works to structures amounted to US$ 50 million in the Netherlands. The paper reviews geotechnical investigations associated with the earthquake carried out in the Netherlands. Much of the damage is attributed to liquefaction; excess pore pressures resulting from the earthquake caused sand vent eruptions, river-dyke failures and slope failures. Comparisons are made between the predictions of 1987 and that which occurred in 1992.. Site investigation works are recording geotechnical and building data so as to allow for correlations between extent of damage, ground geotechnical profiles and building design. Models for liquefaction are reviewed to describe the slope failure as well as the sand vent phenomena. Densification of subsoil has been inferred from CPTs taken before and after the earthquake for some sites. Pile foundation damage has been investigated for buildings in Roermond for which their susceptibility to earthquake lateral forces in terms of stiffness and pile head working loaJ is given. INTRODUCTION Earthquake hut 60 km to the northwest. These earthquakes have been estimated to have a recurrence period of 12.0 to 140 At 03:30 hrs early Monday morning of the 13th Aprill992. an years. Research into earthquakes is not new in to the earthquake of magnitude 5. 8 on the Richter scale occurred in Netherlands. The number of researchers in this field is though the southeastern part of the Netherlands near the border with very limited; the seismological office of the Royal Germany. The earthquake is the strongest ever recorded in the Meteorological Institute in de Bilt and a number of researchers Netherlands and caused damage amounting to $50 million. at the University of Utrecht Geological Institute and at the Only one death, due to heart failure, has been attributed to Delft University of Technology Engineering Geology Section. earthquake, in Germany. The low human injuries resulted Research at Delft had been active in this field a number of from the earthquake happening during the most quiet period of years investigating the susceptibility of "foundation zone" the week; early Monday morning when even the night life in deposits to liquefaction in the southeastern part of the the Netherlands is at its lowest. No occurrence of building Netherlands assuming an earthquake epicentre along the collapse has been recorded which may be the other factor Peelrand fault of magnitude 6 on the Richter scale. The limiting human injuries. Buildings, though, were damaged. location map in Fig. 1 shows the susceptible areas (Lap 1987) The damage required, in most cases, repairs to cracks, though and the significant geographical locations with respect to the buildings in Herkenbosch, Roermond and Heinsherg and Roermond Earthquake. villages nearby damage to many building consisted of some form of collapse: chimneys, gables, ceilings and roof tiles. Had the earthquake occurred during lunch time on what was POST EARTHQUAKE INVESTIGATION otherwise a relatively sunny spring day many pedestrians may have fallen victim to the falling debris. The Roermond Earthquake has motivated further research activity to both attempt to record and relate damage of Earthquake phenomena is not new to the Netherlands, though buildings as a result of the response of these buildings and the the scale and timing of the Roermond Earthquake was ground they are founded on to the various forces generated by unexpected. The last major earthquake was that of Uden in the earthquake. In addition ground disturbances attributed to 1933 (5.5 on the Richter scale), the epicentre on the same liquefaction manifested itself as sand eruptions, slope failures Peelrand fault-line system as that for the Roermond and embankment collapse. A symposium was held nine months 645 after the earthquake to allow presentation and discussion of with researches in the Roermond Earthquake. initial studies and initiatives on the earthquake. The proceedings on the symposium will be published shortly, (van Geotechnical work on the Roermond earthquake in the Eck, 1994). Various groups were formed such as the Netherlands has been limited to a few investigators within two seismological, information and geotechnical to ensure Delft institutes: Delft Geotechnics which has carried out subsequent to the symposium contact between the researchers investigations on behest of the municipality of Roermond and is maintained. The geotechnical and information groups are the Engineering Geology Section of the Technical University sustained by TU Delft Engineering Geology Section. Activity Delft as a continuation of earlier research and within on the information group has recently been reported at the university funded engineering geology mapping project for the Geolnfo V conference held in Prague in June 1994 (den Outer province of Limburg (south east Netherlands) in which the et al., 1994) in which present information storage and earthquake occurred. anticipated development are outlined. The work from Delft Geotechnics investigated possible unseen The geotechnical group activity subsequent to the symposium damage to foundations of houses both on shallow and on piled has been limited to compiling and submitting research foundations. The area that was particularly of concern by the proposals in cooperation with many institutes in Germany, the municipality of Roermond is along an old tributary of the Netherlands, Belgium and England for European Commission River Roer to the east of the city and corresponds to the high finance. Though unsuccessful the initiatives maintain contact liquefaction potential (shaded) area shown in Fig. 1 . 51°30' 390 380 370 ~ 360 ~ 350 ~ 340 330 unlikely to occur ::;:: ::::;.:::::;:::] areas with a low ;::: ; :>>:::: >:::j liquefaction potential 320 1 areas with a medium liquefaction potential 310 areas with a high liquefaction potential 300 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 Fig. 1. Liquefaction potential map of southeast Netherlands for Richter Scale magnitude 6.0 along the Peelrand Fault (Lap, 1987). 646 o 5 10 15 20 2li 30 o 0.2 o.4 o.& o.a 1.2 1.• The work from the TU Delft Engineering Geology Section as I 22 +-'-.-+-+--+.-+-+---'' a consequence of the earthquake investigated two locations: the \ 1: t'· t I ~ :\;::.I, relatively heavily damaged town of Herkenbosch, sand I I . ':- <t·> eruptions in fields located south of the town and slope failures :-: ;:: ~~ ~-: at Brunssum (see fig. 1 for the locations). .........·. •> <t·' ·.· . , . Traditionally all subsoil investigation for foundation zone in ~ .·I · ·.t · · ' I the Netherlands is carried out by the (static or "Dutch") cone i 11 · · t. · ·.I ·. ·/ I ~ l.' penetration test (CPT). For more information on this type of ·-: -~ test and its comparison with other penetration tests such as the 1 :-: ;-: :-: standard penetration tests (see de Ruiter, 1988).